EverGreen Farm

Signs of Spring

Spring can show itself if many different ways, despite the snow.

One of the first indications of Spring to me is when the chickens start laying eggs again.  Our chickens do many jobs here on the farm.  They eat lots of bugs, fertilize the lawn with their droppings, scratch through (aerate) other animal's waste, and give us eggs.  I mention the eggs last because this is the job they are currently doing most poorly at.  Don't get me wrong.  I don't want to sound ungrateful.  We love their eggs, especially in the summer when the hens are eating lots of fat bugs and veggies.  This diet makes for incredibly orange colored yolks and some wonderful tasting over-easys.  (I'm hungry.)  But our chickens are lacking in the egg laying department.   There are several reasons for this.  First, the girls are getting old.  Some have been around for several years and are past their prime.  Second, we don't "force" the hens to lay beyond their natural season with lights or heated water.  We feed and take care of them all year, in hopes they will earn their keep in the summer, as I explained above.  Third, because we allow the chickens to roam wherever they so desire, we don't always know where the eggs are being laid.  I swear they are hiding them from me.  This adds some interest to doing farm chores.  And is a fun activity for kids when they visit the farm.  But like I said, it leaves me in want of eggs.  (Did I mention I'm hungry?)

Now here's some news that will make you smile.  Know what these are?  TOMATO STARTS!  Go ahead, give a shout for joy!  I can personally guarantee they have a wonderful tomato aroma.  (Boy, I'm hungrier than I thought.)  Shain started these seeds on March 11 (see it written on the pop sicle stick?).  They will get transplanted out in greenhouse #4 this week, on or about April 15th.  Don't worry, this isn't all of the tomatoes we'll be growing.  Just an early variety.  There are 100's more to come.

Any respectable chef knows the perfect compliment to tomatoes is basil.  Here at EverGreen Farm, we follow this line of thinking all the way from the beginning.  When we start tomatoes, we also start basil.  When we transplant tomatoes, we transplant basil.  Why?  Well, it's not because Shain knows how much I love to smell basil when I'm picking tomatoes, or vice versa.  (Now wouldn't that be a romantic notion.)  It's because bugs like tomatoes, but they like basil even more than tomatoes.  One could say that the basil is a sacrificial plant.  In farming terms, the basil is called a trap plant and this pairing of tomatoes and bail is called companion planting.  It works well for us.  (Plus, I love to smell tomatoes when I'm picking basil.)

This is one of the funnest signs of Spring!  Aren't they cute?  These are my three new goat babies.  Tula (photo below, left) was born March 13th.  April and Fred (below, right) came on my birthday, April 1st.  We have a small heard of Saanen dairy goats which provides our family with fresh milk (and goat cheese) most of the year.  The goats also provide us with LOTS of compost, as you can see in the pictures. 

Don't be alarmed by the small circles on the kid's foreheads or the green tint to Tula's ears.  These pictures were taken after the goats were disbudded (to prevent them from growing long sharp horns) and tatooed.  The markings will be gone in a few weeks.

Looking forward to more signs of Spring.... 

Tara

Let's talk about this SNOW!

Perhaps a few pictures will help me demonstrate our current state of affairs here at EverGreen Farm.
 
Left:  March 1, 2007, stormy day, north side of greenhouse #1
Right:  March 3, 2008, sunny day,south side of greenhouse #1

No major differences to point out between these two pictures.   In early March we expect to see this much snow. After all, this is Star Valley, Wyoming.

Now here is where the comparisons get interesting.

Left:  April 5, 2007, sunny day, field #1
Right:  April 1, 2008, sunny day, south side of greenhouse #1

Notice anything different?  I was amazed to look back on these 2007 pictures.  Then I got a little depressed.

Now take a look at both photos on right.  I think there is more snow here now in April than we had in March.   Can that be possible?  I keep looking for a sign, any sign, that the snow is melting.  I look at fence posts.  What do you think?  More?  Less?  I guess it doesn't matter when you look at last year's April 5th photo of bare workable ground.

You can see more pictures from last year in the 2007 Farm Photo Album. It's fun to look back and see the process we went through last year. (Seeing how different the weather is, well that's not fun.) 

So folks, what I'm trying to say is that we still have quite a bit of snow on the ground here. 

Yes, quite a bit of snow.

How does this affect our 2008 CSA season?  I'm sorry to say, this unpredictable snow level puts our first delivery date off by a few weeks. 

Farmer Shain (I only call him that when I want to sound official) says he's been talking to some Star Valley old timers who assure him they've seen this before.  Supposedly, this is how snowy the winters were in Star Valley, before 1997, the year we moved here.  (Insert here:  my *sigh* and mumbling under breath.)

So this is the plan.  If the fields are clear by the first of May we will plant right away and hopefully start harvesting greens for you by the middle of June.  Meanwhile, the snow outside has no baring on the timely planting of those crops we grown in the greenhouses, like tomatoes and basil.

Speaking of greenhouses.  Allow me to address one question some may be thinking.  "Why don't you have all those greenhouses planted with early season crops right now?  If you did, you wouldn't have to be worrying about the snow level and we'd have our food on time."  It's a legitimate question. 

The first year of this CSA we planted the greenhouses very early in the season with several varieties of greens, and greens, and more greens.  Because greens are what grow in the cold.  We thought that's what the members wanted, to start receiving produce as early in the season as possible.  Trouble is, that because the greenhouses were full of cold weather greens, we couldn't get an early start on tomatoes, basil, green beans and other heat loving crops which can only be grown in a greenhouse.  That first year it was a trade off we didn't calculate very well.  We learned that our members highly preferred the alternative farm plan of starting the season a little later by planting cold weather crops outside as soon as possible and saving the greenhouse space for the beloved tomatoes, herbs, cucumbers, and green beans.  Live and Lean.  I hope you will be agreeable to this explanation and our decision.

Enough serious business.  My next farm update will be more uplifting.  There are signs of Spring showing up around here (although most of them are happening indoors).  I will take more pictures and show you soon.

2008 CSA Memberships are Closed

All of our 2008 CSA season memberships are sold.

Membership Update

In about one month's time, our CSA memberships are nearly full.  Thank you for your support and excitement for another year of produce! 

Membership Availability Update:  There are only 6 openings available for paying members.  Please refer to my previous post for sign up information.

We are looking for folks who are interested in working on the farm in exchange for produce.  Our Workshare Program is a nice alternative for someone who likes to play in the dirt but lacks the time, knowledge or resources necessary to commit themselves to planning, planting, weeding, growing and harvesting a full garden on their own.   More information is available by clicking here.  Plus, it's a great way to meet new people, gain experience and knowledge, participate in engaging discussions, and otherwise just have a lot of fun. 

Spread the word!

Winter Work

After the holidays are over, both Shain and I start working on our respective piles. 

My pile consists of a year's worth of invoices, receipts and other paperwork necessary to put together our 2007 taxes.  It's dull, it's complicated, it's enough to drive me crazy at times, and it's all mine.  You see, if I had my choice between the "his" and "hers" piles, I'm quite happy to take on the taxes.  There is no way I want to accept the responsibility of searching seed catalogs and then choosing which varieties we will plant this coming season.  That job would stress me out.  But not Shain!  He devours seed catalogs like I do a piece of double-chocolate cheese cake. 

Here we are now in February and I have successfully whittled down my pile to a meager 12 pages or so.  I look forward to dropping them off to my tax man.  We are seeing the results of Shain's labor on a regular basis in the form of large boxes.  It's like Christmas all over again.

A few weeks ago, we had another work day on the farm.  Our goal was to clear out greenhouse #4, former home to the wonderful tomatoes we grew last year.  Pulling out all those dead plants was a dusty and moldy job, but we got it done.  (I don't know who that group of masked bandit workers were, but they did good work and are welcome here anytime.)

According to Shain, "We've never been this far ahead" with the farm work before.  In years past, we were still pulling dead plants from the greenhouses into Spring.  This year, we have (and I use the word we quite loosely here) already spread a nice thick layer of compost in greenhouses #1 & #2.  And it's a good thing too, because with all this snow and wind, we haven't been able to do much else outside besides shovel, plow, shovel, whine, and shovel some more (and this time I really do mean the word we).

The Politics of Farming: An Agrarian Perspective

by Shain Saberon

Am I a dreamer and a fool because I dare to believe good farming can save our country?  I have been told by many, “You work too hard, too long, for too little," and "Our country and its people are too far gone down the industrial path for you to stop it now.”   I fully understand that industrialism and the corporatists have a lot of momentum.  However, Lynn Miller, the editor of The Small Farmers‘ Journal, recently shared a perspective that eliminated my pessimism.  His thoughts give me hope.

The more farms we have, the greater the opportunity of success for each.  The landscape will heal, the countryside will welcome the return of vibrant small farm communities, the economy will strengthen, the capacity to feed people will increase in quantity and health, the immune systems of an ever growing number of people will improve, governments will move offshore, the moral base will once again rise up from the truths of actual working, and the ranks of the hungry will shrink day by day.

This is a big boast—improved national ecology, economy, nutrition, health, and morality.  Both historical accounts and mounting agricultural research support Miller’s proposal.  With the passing of time I am certain his perspective will been seen as undeniably true.  I believe history will judge us according to how soon and to what degree we understood and acted upon this ideal.

Millers’ model is nothing new.  Thomas Jefferson argued, financed, negotiated, and legislated this very idea.  It is known as the agrarian view, and it stretches far beyond our shortsighted material horizons.  Unfortunately, the narcotic of greed fueled by the radical industrial practice of extracting and mining local goods and services, in other words, the practice of globalization as implemented by supranational corporations, has prevailed and taken us to the brink.  As a result, we now face a convergence of nutritional, ecological, economical, political, and moral crisis.

Where am I going with all this?  Follow me to a very different political perspective; one I hope you will take with you through our 2008 election cycle.  Friends please understand this—from an agrarian point of view both the Republican and Democratic parties have failed small family farms, businesses, and our respective communities.  For evidence, consider how our elected politicians have cast their votes for a global economy.  Their endorsements (of NAFTA, GATT, numerous other “free-trade agreements,” and another subsidized farm bill giving yet more corporate welfare to the largest and wealthiest agribusinesses in human history) prove this point.  Their voting records in regards to this critical issue are dismal!  We, the small farmers and producers of life-sustaining goods, simply cannot compete with cheaply, hazardously, irresponsibly, and immorally produced foods and products forced upon us through slave labor and extractive industrialized processes.  This crime has been perpetrated across borders and oceans to conceal it from our sight.  What is our government’s crime? Outsourcing!  And inasmuch as we are the government, we share the blame.

I concede that our adversaries—in this instance the supranational corporate globalists who have destroyed our health, land, souls, and nation—have the upper hand.  So, what can we do?  Consider and act on the following plan to take back our communities and country:

I.    Educate yourself.  Visit websites like Cornucopia, The Rodale Institute,  The Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance,  and Slow Food.  Also, read the works of Thomas Jefferson, Wendell Berry, Joel Salatin, Michael Pollen, Barbra Kingsolver, Sir Albert Howard, Robert Rodale, Rudolph Steiner and Lynn Miller.  In their words reside the seeds for change.

Thomas Jefferson:  read his original letters found on line at The Library of Congress by clicking here.

Wendell Berry:  read The Unsettling of America, Home Economics, Citizenship Papers, Another Turn of The Crank, and The Gift of Good Land.

Joel Salatin:  read Holy Cows and Hog Heaven.

Michael Pollen:  read The Omnivores Dilemma and In Defense of Food.

Barbara Kingsolver:  read Small Wonders and Vegetable, Animal, Miracle.

Sir Albert Howard:  read An Agricultural Testament and The Soul of Soil.

Robert Rodale:  read Save Three Lives.

Rudolph Steiner:  read The Rudolph Steiner Archive online here.

Lynn Miller:  read The Small Farmers’ Journal (subscribe or read selected articles online here).

II.    Buy local goods, especially foods, and support local people.  This, above all, has gained the most momentum and has the greatest and most lasting impacts.

III.    Seek out, compliment, support, and when possible vote for the few uncorrupted local and national representatives that support agrarian views.

IV.    Flood your unsympathetic politicians with letters and calls demanding favorable agrarian reforms.  To find them go to this website.

V.    Find, encourage, support, and elect true representatives, especially those more sympathetic to agrarian views (positions that are anti-globalist and supportive of local empowerment, production, self-reliance).

In Another Turn of The Crank, Wendell Berry argues that the only hope we have for turning around our current convergence of crisis is through the power of LOVE.  Specifically, he explains that by caring—about ourselves, each other, local landscapes, the agricultural and natural soils that sustain us, the plants and animals upon which we depend, the air we breath, water we drink, and most of all the communities to which we owe our existence—we will save both ourselves and our world.

With more at risk, arguably greater than at any other time in human history, our choices are becoming increasingly more consequential.  We can choose to ignore our situation or to care and take action.  I choose to care.   

Sign up for 2008

Edited on 3/13/08:  All of our 2008 CSA season memberships have been sold.

We are excited to start sign ups for our 2008 CSA Season.  We haven't changed our plans much from the way we operated in 2007 so a look through this website will give you an idea of what to expect.  Please contact us if you have any questions.

You can download the various forms you will need right here from the website.  Or contact me directly and I can send a hard copy in the mail.

This is the complete information packet, which includes:  an About Us page, Application Form, and a 2008 Season Produce Schedule.  Download 08CSAInformation.doc

If you are interested in joining our Workshare Program, please contact us directly, and the Workshare Contract can be downloaded here.  Download 08WorkshareContract.doc

I have set up a PayPal account for any who would like to pay for their membership over the internet, including those who wish to pay by credit card.  This link is only set up to accept payment for the entire membership ($525) + a fee ($15.50) PayPal charges to make this credit card transaction.  If you pay by PayPal, please email me with your contact information (name, mailing address, and phone #) and it will not be necessary for you to send a sign up form in the mail.

Edited on 3/13/08:  PayPal link has been deleted.

I urge those who are interested in a CSA membership to sign up ASAP.  We anticipate memberships to fill up quickly, especially for those wanting their shares delivered to Jackson.

More to come...  Tara

CSA Newsletter - Week #21

Thank you for a wonderful 2007 farm season!

As the end of this farming season falls upon us (along with the snow), I have spent much time reflecting and considering a question I am always asked "Are you glad it's over?"  No, I'm not "glad".  But I am looking forward to spending some time on new projects, cleaning the house, fixing that leaking sink, baking bread again, volunteering in my son's classroom, and maybe even sleeping in a few times.

I've had a song on my mind the past few days which sums up the way I feel about farming.  (Let me first confess to you that I like a wide variety of music which I often sing out loud to annoy my husband and embarrass my children.)  The song is from the 1970's, "Thank you for the Music" by ABBA.  Now you are either 1) laughing, 2) have no clue what I'm talking about, or 3) recalling the lyrics to yourself and wondering how in the world I can relate this song to farming.

I'm going to take liberties here and replace a few of the words to the chorus:

So I say
Thank you for the farming, the work we're doing
Thanks for all the joy it's bringing
Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty
What would life be?
Without this way of life, what are we?
So I say thank you for the farming
For giving it to me

There it is folks.  That's how I feel these past few days.   Cheesy, but true!

THIS IS YOUR LAST CSA FOOD DELIVERY FOR THE YEAR!

Your share will include:

Red Onions
Carrots
Beets
Leeks
Scallions
Red Norland Potatoes
Garlic

The garlic you are getting this week is the leftovers from what we put aside to plant.  It is a little beat up, but it tastes just as good as the "pretty" garlic we sell. 

Please continue to check back to the website for more farm updates and information on joining the CSA next year.  I will also be sending out an email notice as we get more organized. 

Enjoy!  :)  Tara

CSA Newsletter - Week #20

This past weekend our family took a little "vacation" and drove to Montana to pick up a new addition to the farm.

This is Duke.  He is an English Shepherd.  He will have jobs to do here on the farm, but for now he is taking it easy. 

This week your share will include:

Salad Mix
Yellow and Red Onions
Carrots
Chioggia Beets
Tomatoes
Red Norland Potatoes
Scallions

We finally pulled up the last of the yellow onions.  I recommend you make something yummy, like French Onion Soup.

Next week will be our last week for the CSA.  I have bitter/sweet feelings about the end of the season.  I'm getting tired and the weather is turning cold, but I sure will miss seeing the good people associated with this farm each week.  Thank you for your support. 

CSA Newsletter - Week #19

Above is a photo of a bushel of separated garlic.  Over the past week, we planted approximately 6 of these big baskets out field #1.  Each clove of garlic, one at a time, for a total of twenty five 150' rows.  Whew!  I'm so happy that this job is done that I don't even feel like complaining about the few inches of snow we received on Saturday and Sunday.  But I do have to mention it only to give you a good reason why your vegetable share is a little less than I'd like this week.

It went a little like this:  Friday - planted most of the day, Saturday - planted until about noon when the snow really started coming down and the temperatures dropped, Sunday - snow and lots of mud, Monday - the snow was all melted but the ground was way too muddy to plant, Tuesday - we got the last 9 rows and MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Thank you so much to those who came to help.  This is a big job and we are so very appreciative of your effort and hard work.  And an extra big THANKS goes to Cal.  Here is the man of the week!  He came up with an idea and then built a tool to speed up our planting process. 

Here is the tool that he welded together, with thick metal "prongs" at the correct spacing and depth, to make the holes we plant the garlic cloves in.  Cal would go up and down the rows, making holes next to the previously laid out drip tape, and then we'd come along and put in the garlic.  I've got ideas already for next year when we go to transplant the onions and leeks. 

This week your share will include:  I'm not entirely sure just yet.  Like I mentioned above, we didn't get the garlic done until Tuesday, which took out a full day of harvesting for the CSA.  Sorry folks.

So far, we've got the carrots, potatoes and a nice variety of peppers ready.  I'm hoping tomorrow to get you another large bag of tomatoes, leeks, and either scallions or onions (two out of three ain't bad).  This all depends on how many workers are able to come help.

As for a farm update:  The tomatoes haven't died off just yet, but they are showing signs of stress from the cold temperatures we've been having at night.  The peppers still look good and are finally starting to change colors.  The salad?  The new rows Shain planted about a month ago are growing, but the greens are still very small.  Maybe next week.  Carrots, beets and other things growing underground are patiently waiting for us to dig them up for you next week.  Otherwise, it is starting to be clean up time on the farm.  Lots of work to get the fields cleaned up and composted for the cycle to start all over next spring.

Enjoy!  Tara

Almost forgot, I put another great soup recipe on the blog this week.  It is called Steak Soup.  It is fabulous!  A new favorite of mine.